Wednesday morning, as soon as American Express was open, I walked over and tried to reschedule my flight to Srinagar from Thursday to Wednesday. They couldn't do it, but suggested I go ahead to the airport and try to get on the plane anyway.
After doing a little shopping to round off the morning, I did, and was rushed right on to a 737, a nice new plane, and I was comforted by the proposition that it had probably been built either in Seattle or Everett. The plane made a short stop at Amritsar, and around 2PM it landed at Srinagar in Kashmir.
Still hot, but a good bit less humid, and none of the incessant business of a boy for this and a boy for that, rupee here and rupee there, of Delhi. A provincial airport.
Map - Delhi to Srinagar to Agra
I'd packed away the notes I'd taken from Tom Davis, so I really didn't know exactly what to ask for as far as houseboats, but just as everyone had said, a man appeared offering a deal, I agreed to take a look at the proposition, and so I was whisked away in a taxi.
He showed me 2 boats on Nageen Lake, both well-furnished, roomy and clean to the point of plushness, and I took the cheaper of the two at 90 Rupees/day. Tea appeared almost instantly, and they brought me the testimonial book, in which everyone has written their appreciations of their visit.
The owner's name sounded familiar, so I dug out my notes on Srinagar, and saw that it looked as if I'd stumbled right into the very spot Tom said I should try to find. And I looked quickly through the testimonial book and found his little inscription.
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As long as I manage to keep a hand on my wallet, this seems to be another one of those magical little situations...the only other one I've been in was with Dan Golden at Assos last summer. The 90/day will cover room and board, and I'm fed well 3 times a day, and seem to get tea whenever I want it. The houseboat is absolutely "homey", and there is no lack of service. The lake is pleasant and quiet, a hill with an old Moghul fort at the top is just opposite, and another hill with a Buddhist temple at the top is at one end of the lake. The best swimming spot seems to be about ten feet out the front door, and "Tom's" boat, "Happy Valley", is about 50 yards up the shoreline. The boat I'm on has a front porch on the lake, living room, dining room, kitchen, sun deck on top of the boat, and three bedrooms with bath.
Last night Noor, one of the patriarchs of the operation, gave me the sales pitch on all ther treks, tours, special deals, etc. available through him. I agreed to take one of the boys as a guide, and go around the city today.
Monzoor and I left around 9 this morning in a shikhara, Kashmiri gondola, went into the city and up the monastery hill by taxi, to a couple shops, and back for lunch. This afternoon I took the bus into town and did a little shopping on my own.
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If I leave tomorrow I'll have spent 6 days here. The pleasantest part of each day is right around sunset. The horizon glows, the air and the lake are both quiet. I sit on top of the boat, reading as long as the light lasts. Tea appears, then dinner. Everything is quiet and I can watch the sunset and eat. The stars come out and I light my pipe, then go down below to the porch or the living room, and read until dark. The mornings are almost as nice, if I get up early enough.
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Parts of Srinagar are really very pretty. The canal route into the city goes through a Himalayan Venice. Women washing their clothes at water's edge, little grocery stores that front on the water, local people traveling up and down in boats loaded with produce, tourists in their shikharas, fantastic house and bridge architecture, weed-choked and tree-shaded canals which twist in and out from farm to village to farm to city, and the sense of ease and almost luxury that water seems to bring.
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I have been caught once with my pocket book open, though. Spent nearly $300 on some nice textile things at a shop near the houseboat. Most of the things will go to presents, though.
Yesterday I took a day trip up to Gulmarg. Bus most of the way and by pony the last 10 kilometers or so. Blistered my butt good.
Tomorrow, if I am able to get on the plane, I fly back down to Delhi, and from there I hope to train it to Bombay, and the real beginning of my tour of India.
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